One Punch Jaune
by BoredParanoia
Summary: AU: Even if Jaune Arc was rejected from Beacon, his dream to be a hero would not die. After much hardship and training, he manages to obtain the power he needs. However, one question remains on Jaune's mind: How the heck can he keep all the blood and gore off himself?
1. Chapter 1

**I wrote another 'Jaune Arc becomes/is a badass' fic. Thing is, what kind? Which concept did I decide to use?**

**By the way, I do not own RWBY or 'One Punch Man'.**

* * *

_Today was officially the worst day of his life._

_Jaune Arc miserably thought to himself as he wandered through the streets of his hometown. Around him, it seemed the world decided that it was going to totally pick on him and not pick up on his mood. He could hear the carefree laughter of children, the smell of supper wafting through the air, and the sight of the sun slowly disappearing behind the horizon and how it colored the sky made for a picturesque view._

_Which was completely mired by his overwhelming disappointment._

_Jaune Arc sighed to himself again as he continued to walk around, his feet unsure of where to take him. However, it wasn't long before someone noticed his disappointment. Jaune felt something smack against the back of his head. Looking down, he saw a empty beer can. Looking up, he saw the town drunk, Drake or Damien or something, looking at him with a gleam in his eye._

_"Yeah?" Jaune answered back. He at least knew enough that the guy could be a violent drunk._

_"Why are you looking so down, Arc? Ain't it such a beautiful day, today?" Jaune frowned as he took a look around._

_"Yeah, it is...And I'm pretty sure you already know what..." Jaune resisted the urge to snark._

_Drake or Damien or something chortled as he raised his glass._

_"Hey, cheer up, Arc. There's always next year! Maybe that fancy school of yours will take you if you say that you once killed two nevermores with a rock!"_

_With that, the drunk laughed, the annoyed sound rattling in Jaune's ears. Ignoring the drunk, he walked away, only feeling more depressed about his situation. Once out of sight of the bar, Jaune leaned against a wall and looked up at the sky._

_From a young age, Jaune wanted to be a hero. Reading about all the heroes in his story and from his own family legacy, Jaune dreamed of being that someone that defended the peace. He dreamed of saving the day, rescuing people, and generally being awesome and cool while doing it._

_But then again, there was his parents. Elias and Joanna Arc were some of the most loving and doting parents that a child could ask for. However, they were also some of the overbearing and overprotective ones possible. And such a dream was simply too dangerous for their 'Jauney'._

_Soon the age for enrollment into a combat preparation school like Signal came, and Jaune could only watch as a few kids went to that place. While his parents tried to get him to see a life besides the one he wanted by teaching him cooking and other such skills, Jaune could only silently seethe at the perceived injustice of it all, and could only hope to get another chance. So when the time to apply to Beacon came, he knew that he was all alone and that he could only depend on himself._

_He thought that the transcripts that he forged were perfect. Apparently, he underestimated Beacon, and he was found out. Boy, did his parents read him the riot act when they found out what he had done. And soon enough, the whole town found out, and it had been nothing but jokes at Jaune for the past few days._

_And here he was, being let outside because his parents thought it would be good for Jaune to be let out of his room. But now, what was he going to do? As far as he knew, there was no way that Beacon was going to accept him now. As much as he hated to admit it, maybe that was it..._

_Maybe he should go ahead and get used to the life of a simple townsperson, just like his parents want him to be? He did the best that he could, and it didn't work out. Maybe he was just not meant to be the main character in the storybooks, maybe all he was going to amount to was a background character._

_...Great, now he was just getting even more depressed._

_Not even paying attention to where he was going, he slammed into a tree. Groaning as he rubbed his nose, he took a look around as this certainly didn't look like the town proper. Apparently in his aimless wandering, he managed to make his way to the edge of the town, the wildness of the forest deeply contrasting with the orderliness of the town. Staring at the greenery, Jaune walked into it, figuring he might as well do something like climb a tree or something like that._

_It would probably be the most exciting thing that he would ever do from now on. Though just to be safe, he better make sure that his parents didn't find out._

_After a few minutes of walking, Jaune looked around and sighed. Darn it, his gloominess got the better of him and he lost sight of the town. Jaune pursed his lips as he began to look at any of the trees for some moss to point him north, back home and back to bed. At there, he could at least try to imagine all of this to have been a horrible nightmare, and that he was actually on the way to Beacon, on the way to being a Hunter, and making friends, maybe even finding a nice quirky girl to talk to._

_"AHHHH!"_

_Jaune blinked, before something collided with him, knocking him to the ground. Looking at whatever it was that knocked him to the ground, he saw that it was a black haired kid, with a pretty prominent cleft chin. Then Jaune heard something howl, and he looked past the kid, who was also looking back. Just out of the clearing that the kid appeared from, a Beowulf burst out of the brush._

_At that, both the kid and Jaune sprang to their feet and ran away, screaming like little girls while the Beowulf chased them._

_"What the HELL?!" Jaune screamed as he ran faster than he ever did before. "Why is there a Beowulf chasing you in the first place?!"_

_"I tried drawing a mustache on it with a sharpie!" The kid screamed, tears leaking from his eyes._

_"Wait, the black one?!"_

_"YEAH!"_

_Jaune couldn't help but take a look behind him at the Beowulf._

_"Its fur is black! How can you see it?!"_

_"I thought that maybe it would be cool, like my friends would know that I managed to get this close to a beowulf! That I was being brave."_

_"Man, I think the word you're looking is 'stupid'!" Jaune retorted as the two continued running. However, it seemed no matter how long they ran, the Beowulf was still on their tail, and they were still stuck in the forest. Suddenly, Jaune saw a fallen log coming up before them. It was too long to run around, so..._

_"JUMP!" Jaune shouted as he leaped over the log, slightly stumbling as he landed. But just as he landed-_

_"AH!"_

_For Jaune, everything seemed to slow down. Turning his head, Jaune saw the boy trip over the log. Behind them, the Beowulf had noticed and was already pouncing towards the helpless boy, his fangs and claws gleaming with lethal intent. Looking back at the boy, Jaune realized that there wasn't enough time for the boy to get back onto his feet. The boy had realized this too, and was already covering his tear-filled eyes, trying to make his peace with his imminent doom._

_He could run, and leave this boy to die, or he could try to buy the boy time, and possibly die in the process._

_At this point, no one would know that he was there, that he could have helped. If he left now, no one would know and the rest of the town would just think that the kid was just being stupid. He could live with that...right?_

_With that, Jaune turned around, and pushed off one leg, leaping at the Beowulf. The Beowulf seemed to have noticed him, and readjusted its claws so that it was aiming for him. Jaune only had time to blink, before claws ripped through flesh. The force slammed him down to the ground, the slam barely registering as the pain coming from his face was like a burning that consumed his senses._

_In a desperate bid, Jaune groped around for something, anything that could help. Feeling something long and furry, he grabbed hold of it, and began to pull it. Screaming out, he registered the feeling of something flying over him and crashing into a nearby tree. It was a few moments later, that Jaune realized that something was still in his hand. Looking down with one eye, Jaune saw the Beowulf's tail in his hand._

_Looking back, expecting the kid to be long gone, his jaw dropped in shock as the kid was still there._

_"WHAT THE HELL?! Why aren't you running?! I think I might have lost an eye!"_

_"MY PANTS ARE STUCK!" The kid cried as he tried to unhook his pants off a inconvenient branch. Suddenly, a growling could be heard. Jaune turned around, and saw the Beowulf, its teeth bared as it stared at him. Suddenly, Jaune didn't feel so safe being there._

_Then Jaune took a look back at the kid, before taking a breath. The Beowulf howled before charging at Jaune._

_Jaune's fist tightened, before he shouted and ran at the Beowulf, his fist drawn back. His teeth was gritted in determination as he stared at the approaching grimm. Even the pain from his face that had been so agonizing had been reduced to a dull ache. Everything was simply secondary to one thing, the need to protect two lives, his and the kid next to him._

_He may be a failure...but he wasn't going to fail this kid._

_This simple determination, his singular drive, inspired something. In him, something broke, and power flowed out. He didn't notice his fist glowing with a white glow. He did notice when his fist lashed out._

_The beowulf's howl was cut short as the snout was smashed in by the glowing fist. The grimm flew back as ichor came out of the ruined snout, some of it landing on Jaune's fist. Crashing into a nearby tree, it didn't move as the tree fell on top of it._

_As tranquility returned to the forest, Jaune was breathing hard, staring at the corpse of the grimm, hoping that it was really dead. Taking one last deep breath, he looked at his glowing hand as the light began to dim. Flexing his hand, he nodded, before looking back at the kid, who had been staring at him._

_"...You alright, kid?"_

_"...That was the coolest thing I ever seen."_

_Jaune merely rubbed the back of his head as he awkwardly chuckled._

_"To be honest, I don't know if I can do that again."_

_As he walked over to the kid to free him, he felt something under his shoe. Looking down, he saw the Beowulf tail. He idly picked it up and stuffed it in his pocket as deep as he could, before getting to the log, and unhooking the kid's pants._

_"Well...Come on, we better get moving. I honestly want to see if this," Jaune pointed to his wound. "Can still get treated."_

_The kid was silent for a while, before smiling and nodding, unaware of the effect. As the two began to walk away from the scene, Jaune couldn't help but smile. Despite the pain, Jaune knew that he saved a life, the life right in front of him._

_So what if he didn't get into Beacon? Right now, as far as he knew, it was just a setback._

_He was going to be a hero, Jaune resolved to himself, eyes alight with determination._

_Nothing would stop him from achieving his dream._

* * *

Boy, weren't those the days, a figure thought to himself as he idly walked through the forest, hoping that he would come across a village. His hoodie could use a wash, and the prospect of an actual bed excited him more than it should have. He really should have gotten like a map or something from the last town or something. Good thing all those camping trips with dad payed off.

...Well, now he was feeling kinda sad. Maybe he should have done more than just left a letter.

Suddenly, Jaune heard growling. Taking off his hood, he looked around the forest, curious about what made the sound. Whatever it was...

...probably wasn't friendly?

"Hello?" Jaune called out as he dropped the bag that he had carrying on his shoulder. As if a dinner bell had rang, from behind the trees, Beowolves appeared. Snarling and growling, they seemed like a normal-sized pack that had just stumbled onto a unexpected, but tasty looking morsel.

Jaune wasn't even phased. Maybe it was the hellish training he forced himself to do, perhaps it was the other grimms that he fought. But either way, Jaune did not fear.

The group of Beowolves surrounded him, Jaune noted as he looked around him. Yet it seemed like they were...waiting. Jaune raised an eyebrow as he waited for something to happen.

Suddenly, there was a howl, and Jaune felt something rush at him from behind. Jaune was still, feeling the presence come closer and closer and closer, until it was almost on him.

Then Jaune ducked, letting the Beowulf sail over him. As Jaune lashed out with a punch, he swore he saw the Beowulf actually look surprised, right before it was reduced to bloody chunks. The Beowolves in front of him were splattered with the gore of their fallen brethren, and the group actually looked hesitant about this prey.

Then one Beowulf, looking much more important and standing like it, strode up to the front of the group, and growled out. Almost immediately, the group began to calm down, and actually look like they were ready to charge. Jaune shook his head.

"No..."

He could see the muscles in their legs tense.

"NO..."

Then the alpha Beowulf roared, and the pack charged en masse. Jaune could only hold his ground and punch the first Beowulf in the face.

If anyone was near the place, they would have only seen a flurry of fur, and geysers of gore erupting and decorating the trees.

However, this flurry slowed down, until the Alpha and a few more beowolves were standing across from Jaune. Their fangs and claws had been broken or dulled, and they looked at him with fear. One of them even began to step back.

"NO." Jaune frowned, his blood splattered face a terrifying visage. "You're not leaving alive."

And with that, he charged, and it wasn't long before the Beowolves joined their brethren in painting the forest with a shade of crimson. Jaune stood in the middle of the carnage, looking at his torn and blood splattered clothes. Now he hoped that the next village had a tailor or something. Groaning, he rubbed his bare head.

At least being bald meant that he wouldn't have to spend time washing blood out of his hair.

* * *

**Yes, this is a manga out there called 'One-Punch Man.' And everything you need to know about it, is in the title. If you're going to check it out, check out the one by 'ONE' (If you mind the...art) or the one that is written by 'One' and drawn by Yusuke Murata, who drew Eyeshield 21 (And has much more polished art).**

**So yeah, how can I make an interesting story about a guy who can kill with one punch? Well, I don't know, but I'm going to try.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you, everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed. It does wonders to know that there are people out there who enjoy your work. Also, please do review. As much as I like knowing that there are people out there who enjoy my work, I enjoy it much more when I see people visibly react to my stuff. I feel that as a writer, that's one of the joys I get. **

**As for review responses...**

**diggix: Yep, you guessed right! As for the comedy and parody, like I said 'I'm going to try my very best.' And to be honest, I think a few more chapters, like one or two more, will be setup. At this chapter, we'll be introducing an overarching plot or two!**

**lolreader39: Yeah, I do feel like there might be potential in a crossover like this, especially considering how semblances work and all that. One Punch Man definitely needs more love. **

**As for the rest of your suggestions, something's gotta happen to the hair. There's a price to be paid for that power...**

**And if I'm to be honest, I feel like if another person should do this kind of concept, they should do Genos!Jaune. Like, Human turned Android Jaune who goes to Beacon because his creator/mentor wants him to socialize and stuff like that. Can you imagine him fighting with laser hand blasts, and his teammates getting all worried for him because despite getting all torn up during the fighting, he's not even phased?**

**That would be awesome.**

**Well, with that, on with the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or the concepts of 'One Punch Man'.**

* * *

Thomas was an old man who thought he had seen a whole lot during his life working the bar that had been in his family for generations. He had seen the best of friends devolve into the bitterest of enemies, the bitterest of enemies into the most tender of lovers, and every dance move translated into drunken swinging. As such, he believed himself to be prepared for any occasion that would happen.

So as soon as a wet, shirtless bald boy with torn up jeans stepped through the door, Thomas got out a fresh pair of pants, a shirt, and a towel, before tossing them to the kid. The kid only blinked before catching them out of the air. Thomas smirked.

"Nice reflexes."

"Uh...Thanks." The kid said as he went to one table and began to dry off. Thomas noticed something else hanging from the kid's pants and whistled. Peeking out from under the towel, the kid looked at the old man. Noticing that the kid looked a bit uncomfortable, he gestured to the wolf tail attached to a chain.

"Is that authetic? The tail?" Thomas asked in genuine curiosity. The kid looked at the tail before smiling and nodding.

"Yeah, it is. So...does this happen often?" The kid said as he gestured to the fresh clothing.

"I'd like to believe that if someone was in need for something, it would be neighborly to give them some help." Thomas smiled at the kid.

The kid grinned back as he finished drying himself off. Placing the towel on a nearby table, he pulled the shirt over his head. Looking over himself, he couldn't help but feel that the shirt was a little more snug than it should be, before shrugging. Better than nothing, he thought to himself as he hopped into a bar seat, slipping on the fresh pair of pants while holding his torn pants in the other. Fishing around in the pocket, he got out a damp wallet, before looking inside and grimacing.

"Hey, is wet lien any good?" The kid asked, getting out the money in question. Holding it out, it wasn't long before the water collected on one end, and the weight causing the paper money to rip. The kid blinked as part of the lien dropped on the floor. Then he blew air out of his mouth.

"Great..." The kid shook his head, before frowning as his stomach grumbled. Thomas looked at him for a moment, before deciding on something.

"Hey, kid-"

"It's Jaune. Jaune's my name. Master odd jobs guy at your service." The now identified Jaune said as he leaned on the counter.

"Perfect, I'm willing to cut you a deal, kid."

"You call me Jaune, and I'll listen."

"Alright, Jaune. You work for me for a couple of days, and I'll pay you, enough to pay for three squares and plenty to hit the road with. I'll even let you sleep here. Got a couple of cushions and pillows around here somewhere."

Jaune stared at him for a while, before smiling even wider.

"Sir-"

"It's Thomas. If I gotta stick with calling you Jaune, then I prefer being called Thomas. Sir makes me old."

"Alright, Thomas. Going with what I was saying, it's people like you that I'm convinced after messing around with me so much, Lady Luck likes to drop me a bone."

"Hehe, yeah, Lady Luck can be such a tease sometimes..."

The forest was quiet, and if she knew her movies, that usually meant bad things. This was the thought that Ruby Rose had in mind as she and her team moved through the forest, her hand on her trusty mechashift sniper rifle/scythe, Crescent Rose. And when they were dealing with a particular pack of beowolves that had been harassing with one village's animals, paranoia was usually justified.

Usually, as a bush rustled and a sword went flying into it like a fishing line into the water. As the sword returned, a rabbit was impaled, its foot giving the briefest of spasms.

Almost at once, Ruby dropped her 'serious mission' face, and gasped in horror.

"BUNNY, NO!"

The wielder of the sword grimaced as she behold her kill.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Bunny. I thought you were a mean beowulf. I hope that whereever you're going, you can forgive me." Penny apologized as she tried to think of what to do next.

Meanwhile, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long stood to the side, watching the sorry sight.

"It's times like these that I find myself in disbelief that those two are about to end their third year at Beacon."

Yang shrugged.

"Hey, that's what miss Heiress keeps saying."

Blake smiled, as the two now tried to give the bunny CPR.

"I know. Still, it just seems like the more things change, the more they stay the same."

Yang grinned as she reached over and scratched Blake on one of her cat ears.

"Well...I wouldn't say that..."

Blake resisted the urge to purr as she mildly glared at Yang. Damn her, she's getting a real good spot. "Yang, will you stop that? We're on a mission right now, remember?"

Yang smirked as she looked over at Ruby, who was now weeping over the poor bunny lost, and Penny, who was doing her best to comfort her.

"I don't know about that, I'd say the mission is paused for right now..."

"Yang, after."

Yang frowned as she took her hand off Blake's furry ear. "Fine, after."

With that, Blake turned to Ruby and Penny.

"Ruby, Penny, I know this is tragic, but we got a mission right now, and we can't afford to be distracted."

Ruby turned to Blake with a look of anguished pain, tears running down her face.

"B-Blake, how can you say that! We took an innocent life!"

"'I' took an innocent life, Ruby." Penny said, patting her partner on the shoulder.

At this point, Yang stepped forward.

"Okay, we'll hold a funeral for the bunny, alright? When we get back..."

Ruby sniffled as she wiped her nose. "Promise."

Yang nodded as she held her hand as if she was swearing. "It's a promise."

Ruby finally wiped her tears away, for a fresh look of determination to replace her forlorn expression.

"RIGHT! Let's find those Beowolves quickly and get back quickly. Mr. Bunny needs his funeral soon."

Penny nodded.

"I'll be sure to look up funeral rites as soon as we get back. I just hope that I can choose the best one." Penny confirmed as she made a mental note to herself.

"Thank you, Penny. I know you will." Ruby smiled before the party went forward, one bunny corpse wrapped in cloth and stored in Penny's backpack.

However, it wasn't long before Blake stopped, before covering her nose. There were times that she hated her enhanced faunus senses, and now was one of them. Around her, she could see her team gather around her, looking concerned.

"Blake, are you well?" Penny asked. Blake shook her head.

"I-I think it's coming over there." Blake said as she pointed in a direction.

With that, Team RPBY got out their weapons, before slowly moving in the direction that Blake had indicated. However, what they did see as they emerged into the clearing, it wasn't pretty by any stretch of the imagination.

"Blood, it was blood." Blake grimaced as she held her nose, the scent overpowering to her. The rest of her team was looking around the clearing, trying to determine what exactly happened.

"I think this is our Beowolf horde." Ruby guessed as she poked at a decapitated head of a Beowulf.

"Well, I guess this will be a pretty short mission report to write. 'Came into town, went into forest, turns out job's already done.'" Yang joked, though she looked a little peeved that they more or less had their time wasted. That and she looked a little more pissed on the blood that was getting on her boots.

"Friends! Come over here, I found something!"

Hearing Penny, the rest of the group walked over to her, who was crouching near the center of the clearing. Once they got over there, they realized what exactly Penny was seeing.

"That's weird. This part of the clearing for the most part is clean..."

At that, Penny nodded as she continued to examine the scene.

"Yes, I also found that the majority of blood spatters seemed to originate leading away from this spot, meaning that something of exception force must have been attacked them at this spot. Except, this part of the clearing is mostly clean, meaning it must have stayed put the entire time. And even more so, it looks like this spot is only big enough for one person."

As the rest of the team processed this information, Blake noticed one detail that stood out amongst the blood and gore. All around them, their footprints have been all over the place, yet she could see where their steps originated from. However, there was one set of footprints that she didn't recognize that walked out of the clearing, and the more she thought about it...

"These footprints..." Blake's exclamation drew the others attention who came a little closer.

"So we're looking for one guy?" Ruby summed up as she stared at the trail.

"Damn, one guy did all this? ...You think it would work if we asked around for a guy covered in blood and guts. There's no way they would have missed something like that." Yang interjected.

"Guys, let head back." Ruby ordered, her 'serious mission' attitude returning. "I think we've done all we could here."

As the rest of the team nodded and began to leave the area, Blake took one last look around the area. Yang came up next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You alright?"

Blake looked at Yang, before shaking her head.

"I...I thought it was the blood that was bothering me, but there's something else. I can feel this...feeling hovering around this area, and it feels like I should know what it is..."

Yang frowned as Blake shook her head. "Maybe it's nothing..."

"Naw." Yang shook her head. "Remember that. Last I remember, those instincts of yours never steered us wrong. Come on, I'm pretty sure Ruby and Penny would want us to be attendance."

Blake smiled. "Oh dear, and I don't have anything to wear."

As the two left the scene, they never realized that they missed one detail. Underneath the blood and gore, they were scraps yet would have proved to be a valuable clue in the following weeks.

Scraps of clothing, of cotton and denim.

* * *

**OMAKE - JauneMan**

"SURRENDER, JAUNE-MAN! YOU CANNOT BEAT ME! SOON, MY PLAN TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD SHALL COMMENCE, AND I...SHALL RULE THE WORLD!" A figure shrouded in darkness gloated.

JauneMan, with his flowing red cape and boots, pointed his heroic finger at the treacherous villain.

"I WON'T LET YOU WIN THIS DAY! TAKE THIS, YOU VILE FIEND!"

Taking a single bound towards the shadowy visage, he reared his fist back.

"TAKE THIS! SUPER-ULTIMATE-MEGA-BUSTER-DESTROYER-OMEGA-RAY-CHOCOLATE CHIP-SURPRISE-MANGO-SWIRLIE-OVERHYPED-NOTHING REALLY SPECIAL-REALLY JUST AN ORDINARY EVERYDAY PUNCH!"

"AUGH, I'M DEFEATED!" The shadowy figure shouted as he was blown up into a thousand pieces by the sheer force.

"And that's why I don't drink. It turned out I destroyed the statue of their beloved mayor." Jaune commented as he wiped down a beer mug.

"I'm sure at least half of the people that go here would love to say they punched a statue so hard it broke..." Thomas said as he handed another drink to another down-on-his-luck loser.

* * *

**Omakes...When you realize that you didn't exactly meet your funny quota that you set for yourself.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow, a lot of you are really hung up on the hair, huh? Well, there had to be some price for his power, right?**

**Also, why was this chapter late? Last monday, I went in for a wisdom teeth removal. I think enough has been said.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or the concept of One Punch Man.**

* * *

"You all must be wondering why I have called everyone here to a meeting." A grey-haired man at the end of a table spoke aloud, before taking a drink of coffee from his mug. Despite having a cane and generally looking like your average everyday old person that probably was hiding something, it would come as a surprise that this man used to be one of the most powerful hunters in Remnant before retiring to become the headmaster of the most prestigious hunter training school in Remnant.

This man was named Ozpin.

"Well, you usually have good reasons for doing so, my old friend." A rather portly grey haired gentleman by the name of Peter Port exclaimed.

"Thank you for your vote of confidence, Peter." Ozpin replied. "Now then, the reason why I have all called you here is because of the latest report from academy team RPBY, and before you say anything, Glynda, they did not accidently stumble upon another evil plot and had to stop it. Honestly, it's been three years, you will never let it go, will you?"

A severe blond with glasses and a tattered purple cape shook her head. "I will not, Ozpin."

Ozpin could only sigh in understanding. "I at least thank you for your frankness, Glynda. Now then, as I was saying, team RPBY came back from their mission to take on a pack of beowolves that were reportedly taking some of a village's livestock. As the intel stated, it was supposed to be a small number of beowolves, however, it turns out the number was much more larger than that. Or at least, that is what all the gore seemed to suggest."

One professor, cupping his own mug of coffee, and jittering in his seat, sat still long enough to ask. "Wait, do you mean?"

Ozpin nodded. "Precisely, Oobleck, as you all know this officially marks the seventh time that a team has been sent out on a mission, only to report that their mark had already been neutralized. What is important about this is that we have confirmation that all this is indeed the work of an outside force."

Ozpin waited for a moment as the faculty discussed among themselves the implications of this information. During the past few months, the region was becoming famous among hunter circles for their grimm suddenly resolving themselves, the marks of the hunters ending up mysteriously as piles of gore. As the conversation calmed down, Ozpin cleared his throat.

"What's more, team RPBY has already taken pictures as evidence. Turn your attentions now to the screen above."

As the pictures appeared on the screen, the battle hardened veterans turned teachers barely batted an eye. Then Professor Port's eyes narrowed as he focused in one detail.

"That dry spot right there in the middle...Is that?"

"According to the report that RPBY prepared, they theorize that is the zone of engagement."

"Really?" Glynda blinked. "But that's only big enough for one person? Are you saying that one person took on an entire horde of beowolves, standing still?"

Ozpin nodded. "And according to the report, they found a trail of footprints that undoubtedly belonged to whoever this person, and the gait suggests that they managed to leave under their own power. They couldn't find anything that suggests that whoever the person is, they weren't seriously wounded."

"But here is the point I wish to make about this, since I'm sure you're wondering. I believe that this person and the recent cases of seemingly resolved grimm cases are connected. As you can see here, if you put the cases on a map and have them appear in chronological order..."

A map of the region appeared, and dots placing the location of each spot. As the faculty watched, their eyes widened as they slowly began to trace out the pattern.

"It's...all in a path." Oobleck said in amazement, adjusting his glasses.

"Precisely." Ozpin nodded. "All the sites seem to have been possibly visited by our mysterious wanderer here, and that is what concerns me, that they are wandering and despite these towns saved, they have no idea on who or even what their problem solver is. I'm not exactly sure why, but either way, considering the...debacle that we had three years ago, I'm not willing to dismiss it."

Setting the coffee cup down on the table, Ozpin stared straight at the faculty.

"There will still be missions sent out into that region. Even if their original target has been dealt with, their secondary objective will be find out any and all information they can about that person and how they dealt with the problem. With that, you are all dismissed."

* * *

"Wow, so your mission was a bust just like us?! OH, who do you think it was! Maybe a rouge hunter that doesn't like the sister, or some silent samurai who swore revenge on all grimm because they ate his parents, well doesn't matter because they are so going down for taking away grimms for me to-"

Lie Ren, recognizing that his childhood friend was going into hyperactive mode, quickly got one of the cookies on his lunch tray and stuffed it right in Nora's face. Nora stopped talking just to chew on the delighted sweet. Weiss Schnee could only nod and thank Ren silently, since dealing with Nora Valkyrie just took so much energy from her.

It was moments like those that made Weiss wish she had been in team RPBY. As she rubbed her head, she noticed Ruby and Penny furiously drawing and making diagrams of something.

"Ruby, Penny, what is that?"

Ruby didn't even hear her as she continued to work, so it was Penny who looked up.

"Currently, me and Ruby are trying to figure out possible weapon schematics for our mystery person. Right now, we are now figuring out if gauntlets with shotgun attachments similar to Ember Celicia match."

"Hey, Penny!" Ruby spoke up as she looked up. "What do you think about this?"

Penny looked down at the latest design before shaking.

"I don't think that would be possible. The recoil could be throw off punches even with aura reinforcement."

"Penny, Penny, you and I really should spar some more some time... But you're right, hold on a bit." Ruby said as she began to vigorously erase the designs again, before reworking the variables again. Weiss stared before looking over, trying to comprehend the design.

"Doubt it was something like my Ember Cecilia," Yang commented. "Seriously, whatever that guy or girl had, that was some serious firepower."

Blake nodded. "Not to mention there were no signs of bullet casings or any notion that they were picking them up."

At that, the redheaded Spartan of Team WPRN, Pyrrha Nikos, looked over at Ren. "Then what about bare handed technique? Ren, you think you can pour more aura into that to do the same thing?"

Ren shook his head as he got another cookie and shoved it into Nora's mouth as she finished the first one.

"Doubtful, that technique is only good for precision strike, not full destructive force, like you guys are saying. Even if I had poured more aura into it, it would probably only pierce through harder material. Honestly, I would look more into possible weapon designs. Even if there is a technique like that, the sheer amount to blow grimms apart like that, all individually like that..."

Ren paused.

"How many Beowolves were in that pack, again?"

Penny took a moment to think, before smiling.

"At least 33 Beowolves, calculated by the area covered by blood and the volume of blood an average Beowulf has."

Everyone stopped for a bit, trying not to let the information disturb them.

"Right...And then, having Aura shielding protecting them while a swarm of Beowolves attack you from all angles? The amount of aura needed for all that would be monstrous, bordering on absolutely impossible."

"And besides..." Weiss jumped back into the conversation. "We're just students."

"Weiss..." Blake began only for Weiss to hold up a finger.

"Listen...We barely made it the last time we got involved in something, and need I remind you that was something that we got involved in. Cinder...The White Fang...I surprised we managed to make it out as well as we need to... Heck, I'm surprised Cardin and his brutes made it out alright when he called the White Fang a bunch of animals right in front of their faces."

Cardin looked up from his table, looked back at Weiss, before showing his middle finger.

"I'm just saying..." Weiss sighed. "We've done our part, and soon enough we'll be doing it again when we graduate. I...enjoy this time we have together, and I know we won't have it forever...So can we at least enjoy it without...this?"

The table was a island of silence among the endless chatter and gaiety of the cafeteria. Then Nora spoke up again.

"I still say w-HRM!" Nora was interrupted as Ren stuffed another cookie into her mouth.

"Whatever you want to say, say it quickly. I'm running out of cookies."

The table was quiet at first, mulling over Weiss' outburst. Finally, Blake, looking apphensive, looked at Weiss. Yang reached out to touch her shoulder, but Blake didn't respond. After a few moments, she opened her mouth.

"I...I know I...we should. Weiss, you're right, we've done our part, we've done more than anyone asked. But something about this... It just doesn't feel like something we can ignore, because sooner or later...this is going to affect us all. I mean...I felt something there, and it just keeps me awake, just makes me nervous."

"Whatever happened there, whoever this person is, I don't think that's the extent of what they can do..."

* * *

Jaune yawned as he stretched his arms, hearing the limbs give off that satisfying crack and that wonderful aura of looseness come over. Clicking his mouth, he gave off a sigh as he got off the table he was using as a bed. Grabbing the blanket off the ground, he folded it before setting it aside.

Going outside, he gargled and washed his face a bit with water out of the rainwater barrel. Then getting a bucket, he drew water, before dumping it on himself. Shaking excess water off him, and drying whatever was left with a towel, he got out his new clothes and put them on. Checking his now dry and more importantly, rather plump wallet, he nodded to himself, before taking one last look around at the bar that he had been working in.

Breathing in one last time, and checking over the note that he was leaving for Thomas, Jaune opened the door and left. Blinking at the morning sun, he tossed his hood over his head, the bright rays now less harsh against his shadowed eyes. With that, he began walking, and he walked through the streets until he came against the outskirts of the town, on top of a convenient hill that overlooked the slowly rousing town.

It was peaceful, he thought to himself as the townspeople began to wake themselves up and the bustle of the town began anew. However, peacefulness, while nice, wasn't kind to someone like him. He was an odd jobs man, and odd jobs men needed troubles, problems. So while it was nice, it was time for him to move on.

Bidding farewell to the town, he turned to leave, just as someone slammed against him. Jaune didn't even budge, then he looked down. His eyes bugged as he realized there was now a stain on his hoodie.

"OH COME ON! I DIDN'T EVEN GET OUT OF THE TOWN PROPER! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!"

"MISTER!"

"Huh?"

Looking down on who it was that was tugging on his hoodie, he looked at the kid...before tugging his hoodie away.

"Kid, please don't get my new hoodie dirty with that red stuff you got on your face."

"MISTER! THERE'S A BIG BLACK URSA AFTER ME!"

"Geez, kid, calm down. And besides, aren't all Grimms black?"

Just then, a Ursa burst out of the brush, mouth foaming, before it locked on to the only two people in the clearing. The kid screamed and hid behind Jaune, while Jaune looked at it with the air of a gardener who just saw a rather interesting butterfly flutter into his garden.

"Huh, that's a pretty big Ursa."

Smelling the red sap, the Ursa roared and charged at the duo. The kid merely closed his eyes, and grasped Jaune tightly. Jaune didn't even looked concerned even as the Ursa jumped at them, maw opening and claws gleaming as it headed straight for their throats.

Then Jaune punched its head off so hard that the headless carcass was sent skyrocketing into the horizon.

"Okay, now's that over, I got two questions. First of all, why me?"

"Because you helped my dad become less of a drunk loser."

"...Fair enough, now what's this stuff and can I get it off?"

* * *

In front of From Dust till Dawn, the old owner of the shop was sweeping the street in front.

"Hm...what day was it today?"

Suddenly, something fell from the sky...and crashed right into the window of his shop, just scant inches from his body. The old man didn't even move. As the dust settled, the old man looked around at the destroyed remnants of his shop before sighing.

"Yep, must be Thursday."


	4. Chapter 4

So, as far as I know, this can truly be called the end of the setup chapters. All - or most - of the major players have been introduced, and I can promise that next chapter is when it really starts to get nuts. I should point out that with summer coming to a close (yeah, that's a shame) I may not have as much time to crank out chapters in my (unofficial) ideal of a chapter per week. Even so, thank you for the positive response!

Now time for review responses!

Lord Sigfry: Yeah, can't wait for that scene too.

garoorar: ...Can I expect you to never let the hair go? I mean, I know you can't picture like that (and it's a little weird for me too.)

Ressan: I understand. It seems that large group conversations isn't one of my writing's strong points.

xX Bottle of Win Xx: Yes, that's something I'm not proud of. However, in my opinion, I feel the teams fell in place like this because of Jaune's absence. As far as I know, the Ren/Nora and Yang/Blake happened without any interference on Jaune's part. However, since Jaune didn't go to Beacon, Pyrrha wouldn't have a reason to stay behind and watch for him, and so would decide to seek out Weiss. Thus, Ruby would be paired with Penny. And that is how the teams, in my mind, were formed.

To those who requested more: here's more.

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or the concept of 'One Punch Man.'

* * *

**15 minutes earlier...**

Maxwell felt for anything in between his teeth, before checking his watch. Only 2 more minutes before the livestream. Sitting on the curb of the street, he idly watched the pedestrians across the street walk, before looking down at the thing that he was fiddling with.

It was a brand new camcorder that he had just bought, and boy, was it worth every bit of lien that he spent on it. The picture quality was top notch, and the sound recording was so good. He felt a bit of a smile come back to him as he mentally congratulated himself for the fine purchase.

Looking down at his watch, he realized that it was time. Turning on his camera, he looked up at the place where he would be making his video.

The From Dust Till Dawn shop.

Looking back at the camera, he aimed it at himself, making sure that the store could be seen in the background.

"Hello, viewers! This is Maxwell Simmons with part 19 of my series, the Corporate Takeover of Vytal. So..."

He gestured behind.

"Dust. You heard the stories, I heard the stories, and the business are already have already starting selling what they think..."

Maxwell frowned. He wasn't sure, but he was hearing something...and it was getting louder. Looking up, his eyes widened before his mouth described his current feelings.

"HOLY-"

Diving out of the way and covering his face, he could only cower as whatever it was crashed into the front of the From Dust Till Dawn store. He felt the broken glass fall on his back, but he kept still. As everything quieted down, before everyone's wonder and fear shattered the silence, Maxwell looked up from his arms, before realizing that he was still recording.

"Okay, something just crashed into the store. You gotta believe me, I ain't making this up. Something just flew out of the sky and crashed into this...Hold on." Maxwell spoke into his camcorder, before looking over at the storeowner, who he was certain had been sweeping right next to the window.

Maxwell could only stare as he saw the man look up from his work, look at the ruins of his store, before mournfully sighing and going back to his work.

"...Okay, I'm gonna go get a closer look at this thing...Wish me luck, and just in case, tell my mom I love her, but she really needs to use deodorant or something."

As Maxwell stepped closer to the shop and peered at the body, he couldn't stop himself from exclaiming.

"MONTY FUCKING OUM! Is that Ursa headless?!"

* * *

Ozpin sipped from his coffee mug as he looked outside from the window of his office.

Today had been rough, considering the city had no idea what to make of the headless Ursa falling from the sky. Despite damage control, the news spread by way of social media, and as far as he could see, all sorts of theories about it came up. And as much as he would have liked it to be a sign of Grimm infighting or publicity stunt by the owner of the store (which he severely doubted), he was only waiting for the official results.

Hearing a knock on the door, he set the coffee cup down on the table.

"Come in."

As Glynda entered the office with the files, Ozpin blinked at the other two people standing at the doorway.

"Mayor, Chief. This is certainly a surprise, what can I help you with?"

"We were in the neighborhood, and we thought that you would be the best person to ask about Grimm, considering one just dropped out of the sky and smashed into a building."

"...Yes, I supposed it would be logical to make that assumption."

* * *

Meanwhile, the main talk of the cafeteria regarded the 'Ursa that fell from the sky.' Team RPBY and WPNR sat at the cafeteria table, strangely silent. Then Pyrrha spoke up.

"You think we should send an apology note?" The rest of her team and Team RPBY looked at her, unsure of what the Spartan was saying.

"What do you mean by that?" Ruby asked.

"Well," Pyrrha began. "Doesn't that owner always seemed to suffer misfortune whenever we get involved?"

The two teams fell silent as they thought about the experiences that they have had with the old owner of 'From Dust Till Dawn.'

"I...might have thrown a guy through his window, though to be fair the guy did have a gun pointed at me." Ruby admitted sheepishly.

"Does my time working at his shop make up for the fact that I accidently damaged his delivery truck?" Penny asked in a completely non-rhetorical fashion.

"I totally swear that I saved his shop from being overrun by Beowolves!" Nora protested.

"Nora...You knocked a group of them into the highly explosive stock he had kept under lock and key, then you fired a grenade in there when you thought one of them moved." Ren sighed, in that long-suffering tone one usually gets when they had dealt with Nora Valkyrie as long as he had.

"You don't know that! Besides, I redecorated for him! The place never seen so much business before." Nora nodded sagely.

"Nora, his store saw at least a 50% increase theft, since you threw out the display cases."

"So? Everyone knows to be a discerning customer, you gotta feel the product."

Weiss blew hair out of her face.

"I guess I'll if I can ask Father if he can spare some high-grade stock."

As the group fell into silence again, Weiss again sighed.

"Regarding the elephant in the room..."

The rest of the group looked at each other before Penny spoke up.

"Looking at the angle that the corpse landed in and the angle in which it broke through the window, I can definitely conclude that it indeed fell from the sky, and not because of some machinery or such, as skeptics on the internet are claiming." Penny smiled.

Ruby, having not paid attention, bit her lip, before groaning out loud. Throwing up blueprints and other schematics up in the air, Ruby flopped onto the table, tears flowing from her faces like waterfalls.

"I CAN'T DO IT!" She wailed before sobbing some more. Yang immediately jumped over Blake and Penny, who moved just enough on the seat to create a space for Yang. Landing, she immediately put her arms around her little sister.

"What do you mean by that?" Yang cooed. Ruby sniffled a bit before answering.

"I can't figure out what weapon could have caused this. I just don't know what could have caused this."

"Shh...There, there, Ruby, my little sister. Even prodigies get stumped by things..."

* * *

"DINNERTIME!" The security guard shouted as he pulled the cart through the cell block. He did his job efficiently, the simple act of pouring food into a bowl and setting it with other offerings having been done with nimble experienced fingers. As each tray is done, he walked up to each door, before sliding the tray in. This is the same routine he did for each prisoner of the cellblock that he had.

Except for one. As he pushed his cart through the cellblock, he came across one corrider. Walking down it, he soon saw a sealed door, with metal bars making sure that one could get in or out. Unless someone had the key that could open the door.

Grasping a key around his neck, making sure it was tight around his neck without choking him, he leaned over a bit, sliding the key into the lock. As he heard the lock unlock, he opened the door to another door, now with a passcode. Swiftly putting it in, he opened the door only to see another door with a need for a key card. Taking it out, he swiped it through, before opening the door to see the final door. It didn't take him even a moment to unhatch the door, before swinging it open.

There, in a reinforced glass enclosure with devices all over with the sole purpose of suppressing the use of Aura, sat the mastermind that nearly brought Vytal to its knees.

Cinder Fall.

As the guard pushed the cart into the enclosure, he could feel the stare of the woman behind the glass. Quickly doling out the food onto the tray, he inputted in a code next to a small opening. With a whir, a small opening was created. Placing the tray on the opening, he was prepared to close it when he felt a hand on his. Looking up, Cinder stared at him for a bit.

"Thank you."

With that, she took her tray, sat down on the table provided, and began to eat. The guard stared at her for a while, before closing the opening, and pushing the cart out of the room. In the hallway leading back to main cellblock, the guard looked around, his eyes glowing a bit as he dug around in his pocket.

Then he took out a pair of gloves, put them on, and continued on his way.

* * *

It slept.

It doesn't know how long. Years, decades, centuries, time flows like the water around it.

It waits. It waits for light. The light...it is too dim for its taste, for its brethren.

And so it waits. It waits for powerful light, that once seemed to permeate the land above them.

It slumbers, and waits.

* * *

Jaune yawned as he lifted another log onto the chopping block. Lifting the axe, he slammed it down, just using enough strength to split the wood without breaking the stand. Grabbing the split firewood, he put it on the pile. Looking at it, he nodded to himself before knocking on the side of the wall. After a few moments, the window next to him opened and a old lady looked outside her cabin to see Jaune gesture to the pile of freshly cut firewood.

"All done, and I believe this should be enough to last you the winter."

"Oh, thank you, young man. I suppose a hardworking person like you deserves a reward." With that, Jaune shook his head.

"Naw, I'm good. I guess the idea of helping others is enough of a reward already."

The old lady looked at him for a while, before smiling. "I believe that if more people were like you, then the world would be a better place."

Jaune shrugged. "We can only hope, ma'am."


	5. Chapter 5

So...Borderlands and the impeding time for school have been distracting me...

And then there's the improptu midnight naps and College...

Alright, review responses (though there aren't many).

Darth Cruel: Thanks, and you should definitely check out the manga. Highly recommend it.

necrofantasia: Well, when you think about it, why would Jaune want or even need to go to Beacon now? He can one-punch stuff. Though if you're talking about earlier, like 2-3 years ago, he thought that avenue was closed to him, and that it was up to him to carve out his own path.

Mlosmie: Umm...I can at least assure that the second-to-last section of the last chapter is somewhat significant. Why? Two words: Series Escalation.

BlueBaronJack and CartoonChaos: Thanks for the comment! It gets me excited too when people comment on my stuff like that.

Jouaint: Here's more.

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or the Concept of "One Punch Man."

* * *

Tick tock.

Ozpin sat at his desk, a mug of cold coffee in his hand and a mass of paperwork on his desk. He looked them over with a careful eye, making sure of under every bit of legal jargon and taking note of every legal repercussion that could befall Beacon. Nodding his head, he sighed it before setting it on a pile labeled finished.

Lifting the mug to his lips, he felt the cold sludge that was once hot liquid flow into his mouth and down his throat. Setting the mug down on the desk, he stood up before walking over to the window and looking out through it. There, he looked over Beacon, the academy that he was entrusted to look over and supervise, in order to teach and educate the next generation of hunters who would fight to protect the kingdoms from the threat of the Grimm.

...It was times like this that he felt so old. How long ago was it when he was just like one of those students, eager and so full of energy, ready to take on the world and carve their names in the history books? The idea of him being headmaster of such a school, or him even being as non-active as he is now would have boggled his younger mind. Ozpin sighed as he took off his glasses to wipe them on his clothes.

Sometimes, it sucked to be old, Ozpin thought to himself as he thought back to the meeting that he had with the Mayor and the Chief of Police. After offering up his own interpretations of what had transpired, as well as his solemn promise that he was sending in teams to have this phenomenon looked at, that the mayor made one suggestion that for the first time in a while, made Ozpin feel annoyed.

After all, teams RPBY and WPNR were still students, despite their role in the...Cinder case. As far as he was concerned, they played their part when they had to cover the asses of people who should have known better. That was why he was so adamant against sending them on this mission.

He at least owned them that much.

As he continued to ponder, he heard a ringing coming from his scroll. Picking it up, he looked at who was calling, before his lips curved downwards. Great...

HE was calling.

Picking up the signal, he schooled his features, before nodding at the figure that appeared on the Scroll screen.

"Ironwood."

The stern looking man looking at him radiated a bit of hurt, before returning to neutral position.

"Ozpin, hello. How have you been?"

Ozpin shrugged.

"I have seen better days. Now, what is wrong, Ironwood? You usually only call me when you believe there is trouble."

At that, the general nodded.

"Correct. A couple of weeks back, looking over a few post-mission reports, I couldn't help but feel that there was something that I wasn't seeing. So, I began to observe the grimm, and here is the data that I found. Here."

With that, Ironwood's face was replaced by figures and charts. Looking over them, apathetic eyes soon widened as he took in the details that they were presenting. Taking off his glasses, he rubbed his eyes before putting them back on.

It seemed that the mystery of the flying ursa would have to wait, if this news really was true.

"How accurate is this data?"

With that, Ironwood's face reappeared on the screen, his face somehow more grimmer than his usual expression.

"Some of the hunters that have been under my command have nearly died for this. I have also talked with some of the border towns here in Atlas, and they have been getting a lot more evacuations needed when such encounters might have happened."

Ozpin nodded grimly. "I see. Can I have a copy of this data? I will need to compare it to some of my own.

"It has been sent. And just in case the worst is to come from this, I already have some reserve teams ready to assist."

Ozpin nodded. "Thank you...James."

A small twitch, then it was gone. "You're welcome. Stay safe."

With that, Ironwood disappeared off the scroll. Ozpin stared at the scroll in his hands before reclining back in his chair. Taking the mug off the desk, he drained of whatever was left before setting it back on the table. Running a hand through his hair, he could only hope that Ironwood's data may been more precautionary. He truly hoped that with his heart, because the idea of it being true...

The idea of Grimm actually migrating was a terrifying idea.

* * *

When Thomas was a little boy, he grew up on stories. Stories about brave heroes fighting evil monsters and saving the day had always captured his attention. One day, he announced his dream to be a hero to his mom and dad.

They promptly ripped it to shreds, saying that the community needed him more as a farmboy rather than a hero.

Everywhere he turned to, he was mocked and ridiculed for having such a ridiculous dream.

Eventually, he believed it was.

And so Thomas was a young man, mostly seeing nothing but to being stuck to this farming community, from life to death. In short, a life guaranteed to be nothing but drudgery and boredom for all his remaining days. What a gyp.

Then one day, while going out to find some firewood for his home, he came across an dead Ursa Major. Looking around, before looking back at the corpse. An idea popped in his head, and old desires came racing up.

In the end, he came home with the head of an Ursa in tow.

Almost immediately, the word spread of Thomas having brought back an Ursa's head, and stories practically abounded. Overnight, the town made Thomas a local hero, and he lapped up every bit of attention that he got. Every kid asked him for details, every young lady his age batted their eyelashes, every adult smiled at him. It was fantastic.

Then Old Man Withers apparently had a few of his farm animals go missing near his farm, and suspected a grimm behind. He tapped Thomas for the job, all the village agreed, and so here he was, his knees knocking and his whole body sweating waterfalls. He should have never fabricated that story. Maybe then, Old Man Withers would have actually hired some real hunters. So now, he was on a surefire course to death, and everyone would know he was a fraud, and would no doubt beat him up in the afterlife when they got there. It seemed it couldn't get any worse.

If it wasn't for the hooded man next to him fiddling with a guitar of all things...

"What the hell are you doing here again?" Thomas asked, agitation growing in his voice.

"Oh, I'm here to watch your battle and make an epic out of it."

"...Did my mom pay you to do this?"

"Well, your mom asked me to, and no, I'm not being paid for this. I believe I still got enough to hold me over."

With that, Thomas turned to regard the stranger. The sun was up, so he had his hood on, obscuring his face with shadows. He was wearing a grey sweatshirt, a pair of jeans, and some sneakers. As the stranger stopped to regard him as well, Thomas swore he could hear a jangle of chains somewhere.

"So...you're being paid to record my mighty deed?"

"Sure, now how you think it should start: 'Our hero, our hero' or 'Brave...what's your name?"

"...Thomas."

"'Brave Thomas, Brave Thomas, the righteous smiter, enemy to woe...' Hmm, I think that's pretty good." The stranger nodded to himself.

"So...you're not going to help me?"

The stranger looked up.

"Why would I help? I mean, it's probably something like another Ursa, I'm sure you can handle it."

Only minutes later, as the two hid behind some bushes and gazed at their target, did Thomas glare at his companion and the sword at his side feel considerably smaller.

"Another Ursa, huh?" Thomas whispered furiously. "That's not a fucking Ursa!"

The stranger looked at him, and even though his eyes were shadowed, Thomas could still feel the questioning look.

"So...You're not going to fight it?"

Thomas shook his head.

"Hell no! The fuck you think I can do with this thing?" Thomas snarled as he tapped the sword at his head. Letting out a sigh, he placed his face in his hands.

"What the fuck, man...What the hell can I do?"

"So you're sure you're not going to fight it?"

Thomas looked up and glared at the stranger.

"Of course not! Do you see the size of that thing? Old Man Withers should go ahead and call the hunters for this..."

The stranger, still looking at him, shrugged before standing up and beginning to walk over. Noticing this, Thomas grabbed him by the shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

The stranger shrugged.

"I'm gonna go fight it."

"What?!" Thomas was incredulous. "Are you crazy? Have you seen the sight of that thing?!"

The stranger nodded. "Yeah, still doesn't scare me."

"You're fucking nuts. Come on, we can't take that thing!"

"Let go, I can do this."

"What are you trying to do, kill yourself? You can't take that thing, let someone else handle it!"

"But I can handle it..."

Thomas, at this point, began shaking the dumb bastard.

"NO, you can't! I know that I'm a fucking fraud, that doesn't mean that you have to throw your life?"

The stranger tilted his head. "Wait, you're a fraud?"

Thomas breathed through his nose, no longer caring. "Yeah, I faked my whole thing. Found a dead Ursa in the woods, cut off its head, and I went around saying I killed it. That was it."

"Okay, man...I'm still going out there to fight it, because someone's got to take care of it."

With that, the stranger pulled himself out of the bushes and into the clearing. Thomas's mouth hung out as his hands grasped nothing but air. The giant scorpion looking Grim turned around, and noticed the lone figure walking towards it. Letting out a screech that sent the birds of the forest flying and Thomas to clutch his ears, it began to charge at him.

At this moment, Thomas knew that there was no going back. He could run, say that the Grimm was too much, that the stranger that his mom hired to write songs of his bravery ended up being more braver than he was. The sword at his side felt heavy and weighed him down. Biting his lip, he decided that enough was enough.

Drawing his sword, he charged forth, ready to meet the grimm with his companion.

"RARGH!" He roared as he charged.

The giant grimm leapt at the stranger...who promptly punched a hole clean through its head.

"RARGHHHHHHHHHHHHehhhhhh?!"

Thomas' mighty battle cry turned into a confused strangle as he walked near. The stranger looked at his hand, now covered with Grimm gore and groaned.

"Damn it, now I gotta get this thing washed."

"...Okay, what the FUCK!" Thomas shouted.

"What?"

"Just...what the actual FUCK! How did you do that, how do you- EH?!" Thomas shouted incomphrensibly as he pointed to the dead grimm.

"I told you I can handle it." Thomas threw the sword away as he grasped his head.

"Yeah, but...what the...how did...wha..." Thomas stared at him as his thought process managed to calm itself down enough.

"How did you do that... No one should be able to one punch kill this thing..."

The stranger rubbed his chin before shrugging. "Well, I don't exactly know..."

"How do you don't know?!"

"But I do know how I managed to get powerful enough to do it..."

"R-really?"

"Yeah, you wanna learn how."

With that, Thomas nodded, ready to learn.

"Okay...What you need to do is..."

Thomas leaned in closer.

"100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats and 10 miles. Every single day without fail, for the next three years."

Thomas blinked.

"...BULLSHIT!"

"But that's what I did..."

"Fine, don't tell me. Pretty sure it's something that probably going to kill me..."

"So?"

Thomas stared at him.

"What do you mean so?"

"So? I'm pretty sure even if I told you something else, you would still disbelieve me. Point is, you wanna get stronger? Then fight that for that strength, and don't let anyone tell you that it's pointless or it's worthless..."

Thomas stared at him more, but in a different light. The stranger's words weren't the most poetic, and yet...Something in him felt changed.

"So...100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and 10 miles?"

"Yep."

"Every single day?"

"Yep."

"Even if I got a broken leg and/or arm?"

"Yep."

"Okay..."


End file.
